


Hunteri Lupus

by sashton



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series, Stanford Era, Werewolf Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sashton/pseuds/sashton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A different breed of werewolf bites Sam on his way to Stanford University in order to save his life.</p><p>Sam learns to cope with the fact that he can, at will, change into a giant wolf and go romping around the wilderness of California's national and state parks.</p><p>This is the story about how Dean reacts.</p><p>A collection of short pieces that span the entire show and show how things might have gone a little differently if the younger Winchester forced his family to see in shades of grey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunteri Lupus

Dean was hunting a black dog alone in the wilds of Yosemite when his opinion of wolves changed forever.

The main problem was that he didn’t _know_ it was a black dog until the thing had cornered him in a ravine blocked at one end by mighty trees felled in a recent storm. His back against the mass of wood, he turned, raising a salt-loaded shotgun – a weapon that would have little to no effect on the creature – in a last desperate attempt to convince the beast that there was easier prey elsewhere. The monster stalked closer, no remorse in its blood-red eyes as its putrid breath wafted over the young hunter pinned by its stare. Dean continued to stare back, desperately praying for anything that would give him the opportunity to escape.

In all the ways he hoped his prayer would be answered, nothing he’d considered came close to what saved him. A giant snow-white wolf, the largest he’d ever seen and easily two hundred pounds of pure hunter, dropped silently into the narrow canyon landing heavily on the back of the black dog. With a matched pair of snarls, the two apex predators tore into one another. The slash of claws and the snap of fangs echoed through the gorge as the dry earth became soaked with spilt blood. Dean watched rapt, as one predator triumphed over the other, howling at the sky in victory as the still-warm blood of its vanquished foe dripped from its deadly jaws.

Dean shifted slightly, freezing once more as the wolf’s head snapped in his direction, unintentionally flinging a bloody piece torn from the throat of the black dog towards one of the smooth granite walls of the canyon. As it slowly slid down, leaving a deep red trail against the icy grey of the rock, Dean gulped, afraid that he’d just gone from the next meal on the list of one predator to the same spot on the list of another. However, in complete contrast to its earlier character, the wolf’s stance visibly relaxed before it bounded closer, tail eagerly wagging and tongue lolling out, giving Dean a very wolfish grin. Dean remained still for a moment, waiting for his heart rate to calm, as he took in the fact that he wasn’t going to be the huge wolf’s next meal. He shook his head and nervously chuckled,

“You’re just a big overgrown puppy, aren’t you?”

The wolf huffed slightly, and Dean was tempted to say that it rolled its eyes, but that was more than likely just a trick of the light. The wolf edged closer still, rubbing itself against the rough denim covering Dean’s leg before licking at his hand. The hunter buried his hand into the thick fur of the wolf’s neck and gave him a rewarding scratch,

“I should probably thank you, shouldn’t I?”

The wolf tilted his head to the side and gave a toothy grin as Dean removed his hand, worrying slightly at the amount of blood covering it. He looked down at the wolf’s white pelt, which was dyed in places by the crimson blood oozing steadily out of the gashes that the black dog had ripped into the skin underneath. The hunter quickly surmised that, at least based on his knowledge of human first aid, none of the wounds would prove fatal to the wolf.

He was surprised when the time came to hike back through the wilds towards the Impala that the wolf tagged along, always half a step to the side, but close enough that Dean could feel its warm breath hitting his hand. When the sun sank below the horizon and Dean had pitched camp for the night, he’d gotten so used to the wolf tagging along that he barely blinked when the wolf curled up beside the small campfire Dean had lit before wrapping himself in blankets and lying down to sleep himself.

As the first rays of dawn peak over the horizon, Dean woke, somewhat irritable without his coffee and looking forward to a hot meal once he’d gotten back to civilisation. He glanced around for his canine friend, blinking with shock when he saw a tall naked man curled up in the space where the wolf was. He frowned,

“Sam?”

The man slowly blinked, freezing when he saw Dean looking down at him. After a heartbeat’s pause, Dean’s hand twitched towards the gun in the back of his jeans, whilst the man who was practically a naked clone of the younger Winchester darted for the nearest tree line, fast vanishing from sight.

Dean made it back to the park headquarters, where he’d left the Impala, late that afternoon. With the wolf-cum-potential-shapeshifter on his mind, he asked to see the head Ranger. The man gestured him into an office,

“So, Agent Roth, did you find everything you were looking for?”

Dean blinked for a moment before nodding,

“Yeah, I’ve got a few things to square off with my office, but I think I’m done here.”

The Ranger nodded,

“Glad to help.”

Dean paused again,

“You know anything about a huge white wolf up in the northern part of the park?”

The Ranger raised an eyebrow,

“Ghost? Haven’t seen him myself but one or two of our part-time Rangers from that part of the park see him occasionally.” He nodded towards the door, “In fact one of them came back from a few days out in the wilds just this morning. You wanna talk to him?”

Dean nodded,

“Please.”

The Ranger gestured for Dean to follow him, before leading the way deeper into the building and to a small office marked as _Junior Ranger_. The head Ranger pushed the door open before gesturing to a desk in the far corner,

“Samuel here is our expert on your wolf. You have any questions, he’s the person to ask.”

Dean nodded as the Ranger left before sliding into the open seat at the desk, coughing quietly to attract the attention of the man working behind it, his head and face covered by his wide-brimmed hat,

“Agent Roth, I was wondering if you could help me out. I’ve got a few questions about the giant white wolf in the park and your head Ranger said that you’re the guy to ask.”

The Ranger looked up,

“Well _Agent Roth_ , I guess I’ll have to help you then.”

Dean stared,

“Sammy?”

His brother snapped back,

“It’s Sam, and what do you want?”

Dean looked slightly startled by Sam’s response,

“I was on a hunt...”

Sam raised an eyebrow,

“Black dog? I noticed it a few weeks back – passed it onto Bobby.”

“And you didn’t think of hunting it yourself?”

Sam sighed,

“Dean. Unlike most college kids, I can’t exactly _go home for the holidays_ and I sure as shit don’t have the funds to go on a road trip, so I work here. It’s quiet and I get a bed and board, along with enough money that I don’t have to spend every night at Stanford behind a bar. I can keep my eye out for anything that passes through and hand it off to other hunters. What I _can’t_ do is going wandering in the wilds for several days with a shotgun and hope that nobody asks why I come back bloody.” He snapped, “So no Dean, I didn’t think of hunting it myself.”

Dean, unwilling to push his brother further, quickly changed the subject,

“So, what can you tell me about this white wolf?”

Sam shrugged,

“It’s pretty fucking huge and is seen in the park occasionally. We’ve never found its den, but it prefers it away from the areas that get most foot fall, so it’s unlikely we will.” He frowned, “Why?”

Dean just glanced at Sam as though the answer was obvious. Sam sighed,

“What? You saw it and thought it was some kinda monster?”

Dean nodded slowly,

“Yeah?”

Sam rolled his eyes,

“It’s just a wolf, Dean. Unless you saw something _else_?”

Dean shrugged,

“Kinda.”

“What?”

“Well it slept close to my camp, but when I woke up there was a kid in its place who ran away like someone had just jammed a firework up his ass. The thing was the kid kinda looked like,” he paused, “he looked like you Sammy.”

There was silence for a moment before Sam started to laugh,

“Oh, that’s good Dean. You’re what, accusing me of being able to shapeshift into a wolf?”

Dean was silent as he mentally realised how stupid his accusation was. Sam raised his hands,

“Fine. You want me to prove it?” He drew a silver knife out of his ankle holster before raising his sleeve and making a small nick in the skin of his forearm. He held it out for his brother to inspect, “See Dean, not a shapeshifter.” He fell silent as he rolled his sleeve back down, “Seriously though, get some rest. If you’re seeing things, Dad’s clearly pushing you too hard. Take some downtime.”

Dean nodded before sliding out of the chair and pulling his brother into a rough hug,

“Sure. See you Sammy.”

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes,

“See you too, Dean.”

Sam watched as Dean left the office. Once the door was closed he rolled his sleeve back up and ran his finger over the slight cut he’d made, watching the skin slowly redden as it started to react to the silver it had been exposed to.

**Author's Note:**

> For all those waiting for an update to Hunting with Wings, I promise you it is coming - I've just been suffering from writer's block with it and have been spending considerable time working on my BigBang piece. However, I've been re-inspired for it now, so should have something up in the next week or two!


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